Alejandro Cardona
Jackson School of Geosciences
The University of Texas at Austin
I. EDUCATION
Ph.D. 2020 Energy Resources and Petroleum Engineering KAUST, Saudi Arabia
MSc. 2016 Earth Sciences and Engineering KAUST, Saudi Arabia
BSc. 2015 Petroleum Engineering UNAL, Colombia
II. EMPLOYMENT
11/2020-Present Postdoctoral Fellow UT Austin, USA
08/2015-10/2020 Graduate Research Assistant KAUST, Saudi Arabia
07/2014-01/2015 Wellbore Stability Intern Equion Energia, Colombia
08/2013-06/2014 Research Assistant UNAL, Colombia
III. PUBLICATIONS
Theses
• Cardona A. (2020). Fluid Transport in Fractured Carbonate Rocks, PhD Dissertation, KAUST.
• Cardona A. (2014). Software Construction to Generate Mechanical Earth Models from Well Logs,
Engineering Thesis, UNAL (Universidad Nacional de Colombia), Colombia (in Spanish).
Publications (referred journals)
1. Cardona A., and Santamarina J.C. (2021), Immiscible Fluid Displacement in Fractured Media,
Water Resources Research, under review.
2. Cardona A., Finkbeiner T. and Santamarina J.C. (2021), Natural Rock Fractures: From Aperture
to Fluid Flow, Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, in press, doi: 10.1007/s00603-021-02565-
1.
3. Cardona A. and Santamarina J.C. (2020), Carbonate rocks: Matrix permeability estimation, AAPG
Bulletin, v.104 (1), p 131-144 doi: 10.1306/05021917345.
Others (technical reports, book chapters, and conferences)
1. Price A., Flemings P., Thomas C., Cardona A., Murphy Z., Garcia A., Savage A., Houghton J.,
and Pettigrew T. (2021). GOM2 Pressure Coring Tool with Ball Valve (PCTB) Land Test III
Report.
2. Cardona A., Finkbeiner T. and Santamarina J.C. (2020). Numerical Study of Fractured Reservoirs:
Hydromechanical Analysis of the Permeability Tensor. Extended Abstract, 4th Naturally Fractured
Reservoir Workshop, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE.
3. Santamarina J.C., Park J., Terzariol M., Cardona A., Castro G., Cha W., Garcia A., Hakiki F., Lyu
C., Salva-Ramírez M., Shen Y., Sun Z., Chong S.H. (2019). Soil Properties: Physics Inspired, Data
Driven, in: Lu N., Mitchell J. (eds) Geotechnical Fundamentals for Addressing New World
Challenges, Springer Series in Geomechanics and Geoengineering, Springer, doi: 10.1007/978-3-
030-06249-1_3.
4. Araujo E., Alzate, G., Arbelaez A., Cardona A., Pena S., Naranjo A. (2014). Analytical Prediction
Model of Sand Production Integrating Geomechanics for Open Hole and Cased Hole – Perforated
Wells. SPE 171107-MS. Conference Paper presented at SPE Heavy and Extra Heavy Oil
Conference: Latin America, Medellin, Colombia, 24-26 September.
Publications in preparation (based on completed research)
1. Cardona A., Fang Y., O’Connell J., and Flemings P.B., Triaxial device for hydrate-bearing
sediment pressure cores: validation of hydro-geomechanical properties (to be submitted to
Energies)
2. Cardona A., Liu Q., and Santamarina J.C., Numerical Study of Capillary Pressure Curves for
Single Fractures (to be submitted to Geophysical Research Letters)
3. Cardona A., Santamarina J.C., A Simple Device to Measure Matrix Permeability (to be
submitted to Geotechnical Testing Journal)
4. Cardona A., Finkbeiner T., Santamarina J.C, Numerical Study of Fractured Reservoirs:
Hydromechanical Analysis of the Permeability Tensor (to be submitted to Journal of Rock
Mechanics and Mining Sciences)
IV. TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Teaching Assistantships
• Experimental Methods for Research & Digital Signal Processing, Summer 2020, KAUST
• Rock Mechanics for Energy Geo-Engineering, Fall 2019, KAUST
• Well logging, Spring and Fall 2013, UNAL
Conference Presentations
• Capillarity vs. Saturation in Fracture-Matrix Systems. InterPore 2020, Online Format
• Numerical Study of Fractured Reservoirs: Hydromechanical Analysis of the Permeability Tensor.
4th EAGE Workshop on Naturally Fractured Reservoirs, 2020, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab
Emirates
Poster Presentations
• The Hydro-Mechanical Response of a Single Carbonate Fracture. International Petroleum
Technology Conference IPTC, 2020, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
• Matrix Permeability in Carbonate Rocks. KAUST Research Conference: Recovery of Difficult
Hydrocarbons, 2018, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
Invited speaker
• Flow Phenomena in Geomaterials: Unraveling Processes and Behavior, UTIG, September 2021.
https://youtu.be/95oTnqe4yt8
V. RESEARCH PROJECTS
Main Project for Post-doctoral Studies
• Deepwater Methane Hydrate Characterization in the Gulf of Mexico: Scientific Assessment and
Production Potential (2015~2024)
Source: DOE (DE-FE0023919)
PI: Dr. Peter B. Flemings
Contribution: research, progress reports, and presentations
Academic Consulting Projects
• Hydromechanical Response of Fractured Carbonates (2016~2019)
Source: Saudi Aramco - EXPEC ARC
PIs: Dr. J. Carlos Santamarina and Dr. Thomas Finkbeiner
Contribution: research, progress reports, and presentations
VI. RESEARCH BACKGROUND – DEVICES AND METHODS
Experimental Devices – Design, Construction, Operation
(contributed in initiating/developing experimental hardware for laboratories)
• Effective stress chamber for hydrate-bearing sediments at in-situ fluid pressure
• Matrix permeameter for unjacketed rock specimens
• Torsional shear and radial flow for pre-fractured specimens
• Large scale 2D flow sandbox model with optical measurements
• Micromodel fabrication using soft lithography with pressure and optical instrumentation
Rock Physics and Geomechanics - Testing Experience
• Manipulation and testing of natural hydrate-bearing sediments under pressure and temperature
• High Pressure High Temperature: Core Flooding, Triaxial System, and Contact Angle and
Interfacial Tension
• Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MICP)
• Surface Roughness by Interferometry
Scientific Instruments - Training and Operation
• X-Ray Diffractometer (Rigaki Miniflex at EGEL Laboratory)
• X-Ray Computer Tomography (Tescan XRE)
• Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (Oxford Instruments, 12 MHz)
• Scanning Electron Microscopy SEM (Quanta 600 at KAUST Corelab)
• Gas Sorption Specific Surface (Micromeritics ASAP 2420)
• Mercury Porosimeter (Micromeritics AutoPore IV)
• White Light Interferometer (Nanovea ST400 and Nanovea JR25)
• Soft Lithography: Mask Maker (Heidelberg μPG501), Mask Aligner (EVG 6200), Plasma Cleaner
(Plasma Etch PE-50)
Analytical and Numerical Tools
• High level programming languages: Matlab, Mathcad, Mathematica
• Petroleum engineering software: GMI-Suite, Fracman, CMG, Eclipse, Petrel, Interactive
Petrophysics, Fracman, Techlog, Matlab Reservoir Simulation Tool MRST
• FEM Software: COMSOL
• Image visualization: ImageJ
• Drawing and CAD software: Solidworks, AutoCAD
VII. HONORS AND AWARDS
• 08/2015-10/2020 KAUST Fellowship for MS and PhD studies
• 01/2015 Fellowship 4th Annual International Poster Research Competition
• 09/2013 1st Place in Petro Cup SPE. XV Colombian Congress of Oil and Gas
VIII. SERVICE
Journal Article Reviewer
• Geophysical Research Letters
• Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering
Conference Organization
• Technical support and organization of the proceedings in form of annotated slides, KAUST
Athenaeum on Dissolution and Precipitation Implications for Energy Geo-Engineering, Feb
2016
Membership in Professional Organizations
• American Geophysical Union (AGU)
• The International Society for Porous Media (Interpore)
• Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)
• American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
• European Association of Petroleum Geoscientists (EAGE)
IX. OTHERS
Certificates
• Laboratory Safety Trainings: chemical spills, cleanroom, compressed gas, emergency incident
preparedness, fume hood, hazardous waste, laser, liquid nitrogen, pressurized vessel, radiation
(KAUST)
Languages
• Spanish (native speaker)
• English (full proficiency)
